Remote working and employee engagement: a qualitative study of British workers during the pandemic

Abstract

PurposeThrough the lens of Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, this study explores how remote working inhibits employee engagement. The authors offer a fresh perspective on the most salient work- and nonwork-related risk factors that make remote working particularly challenging in the context of Covid-19.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use data from semi-structured interviews with 32 employees working from home during the Covid-19 lockdown. Based on the interpretivist philosophical approach, the authors offer new insights into how employees can optimize work- and nonwork-related experiences when working remotely.FindingsThe authors show that the sudden transition from in-person to online modes of working during the pandemic brought about work intensification, online presenteeism, employment insecurity and poor adaptation to new ways of working from home. These stress factors are capable of depleting vital social and personal resources, thereby impacting negatively on employee engagement levels.Practical implicationsEmployers, leaders and human resource teams should be more thoughtful about the risks and challenges employees face when working from home. They must ensure employees are properly equipped with the relevant resources and support to perform their jobs more effectively.Originality/valueWhile previous research has focused on the benefits of remote working, the current study explores how it might be detrimental for employee engagement during a pandemic. The study provides new evidence on the most salient risks and challenges faced by remote workers, and how the unique Covid-19 context has made them more pronounced.

Work-From-Home Engagement during COVID-19: Implications for Human Resource Management

“…The work at home necessitated that employees take on more tasks regardless of family-related duties such as childcare and chores, resulting in increased time pressure. In addition, Adisa et al (2021) confirmed that the work-from-home employees spent lengthy periods of time on digital platforms because of virtual meetings, constant pressure to check and respond to work-related emails outside of working hours, and the need to prove that they are actually working and not neglecting their duties. Palumbo (2020) used secondary data collected from 9,877 respondents during the sixth European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) to provide insights into the current issues of working from home under the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

“…During the COVID-19 lockdown in the UK, employees working from home experienced work intensification and online presenteeism due to the sudden transition to the online format of working (Adisa, Ogbonnaya, & Adekoya, 2021). Work intensification and online presenteeism further generated stress that threatened the workers' social and personal resources and caused psychological strain and low levels of work engagement.…”

Rebuilding the workplace to promote young workers' mental health

“…Research conducted during the pandemic has demonstrated that the home-based workplace has intensified work for many, with online presenteeism cited as a stress factor, and employment insecurity and poor adaptation to new ways of working potentially affecting younger adults with greater severity (Adisa et al. , 2021).…”

Employee Engagement Outlooks in the Era of COVID-19: Implications for Human Resource Management

“…Jung, & Yoon, 2020). In an interpretive inquiry, employment insecurity due to COVID-pandemic produced stress that resulted in poor work engagement in U.K. residents working in different sectors (Adisa, Ogbonnaya, & Adekoya, 2021). Concurrently, the unemployment rate in the United States has a negatively significant relationship with new hire engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic (Ployhart et al, 2021).…”

“…However, the effect size of the perceived family support on employee engagement is small due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Adisa et al (2021) found that poor adaptation to new ways of working from home during the COVID-19 lockdown has debilitating effects on the work engagement of residents in the United Kingdom. Galanti et al (2021) confirmed that the reduction or lack of the social context that employees generally experience in the workplace, i.e., social isolation (β -0.36; P<0.01), is negatively related to work engagement.…”